Photo Courtesy of Morghan Wilcoxson’s Facebook
Gabby Moline | Culture Assistant Editor | gmoline@butler.edu
This is the latest installment of our Bulldog of Butler series, which is a short interview with someone to get to know more about them. We hope to highlight more and more people on this campus. Go to our website to read more stories about your fellow Dawgs.
Morghan Wilcoxson describes her summer adventures in India through Butler’s study abroad program.
The Butler Collegian: What made you decide to go to India?
Morghan Wilcoxson: It was through the religion department here at Butler. They send three interns every summer to a rural hospital in Mungali. I applied for the program on a whim. I was just looking for something to do for a summer internship, and I was looking for something a little bit different. I wanted a study abroad experience that was a little more culturally immersive and service-oriented, so that’s why I chose India.
TBC: What was your favorite experience on the trip?
MW: One of my favorite experiences was getting to know the people and the locals. I worked in a hospital and we got to do a lot of hands-on experience. I got to work in physical therapy and I got to watch surgeries. I’m not pre-med, but I still got to do all this. I’ve got to say one of my favorite experiences was working with the babies. Watching life start was just a really cool thing.
TBC: What took you out of your comfort zone the most?
MW: I got the opportunity to work in a school. Creating lesson plans took me out of my comfort zone for sure. I’ve never made lesson plans teaching English as a second language, which is hard. I was literally teaching 30 kids by myself, having no experience teaching before. That was a big jump out of my comfort zone, for sure. I also worked in a high-risk hospital where a lot of emergency-related cases came. Even my first day of rounds I watched someone die, which was something I had never experienced. Most people don’t in their lifetime. The cycle of life and death was something very new to me.
TBC: Would you go back to India again?
MW: Yes, I would totally go back again. I want to visit the hospital again just to see the people. I learned that India is a very beautiful country. There is lots to do between the mountains and the beach and the jungles. I’d want to go back again and backpack. I’d love to go up to the Himalayas. When people envision India, they think of Delhi, where there are spice markets, and tons of people and cows, but there’s so much more to it. There’s so much more beauty to it. People think of it as an underdeveloped country, but it’s a very developing and new country.
TBC: What’s your recommendation for people thinking about studying abroad?
MW: I’ve had the blessing throughout college to travel to Haiti, Guatemala and India. I’m about to go to Switzerland next semester. I think that every person should be pushed out of their element when it comes to studying abroad. Go somewhere that you wouldn’t expect yourself to go. Don’t be scared. Travel alone. It’s a very empowering experience. Don’t be afraid to take a backpack and get on a train and see where you go.
